The moment the voices stopped—
The world broke.
Not shattered.
Not collapsed.
Rewritten.
The "people" standing before them flickered—
Like corrupted files struggling to exist.
Their faces—
Blurred.
Their bodies—
Incomplete.
And yet—
They moved.
"Formation!"
Han Seojun's voice cut through the silence.
The S-Rank Hunters reacted instantly.
Positions taken.
Energy flared.
Weapons drawn.
They were professionals.
But even they—
Hesitated.
Because this—
Wasn't normal.
"…They're not attacking."
One of the Hunters muttered.
"…Not yet."
Kael stepped forward.
"…They're waiting."
"…For what?"
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…For me."
The figures shifted.
All of them—
At once.
Then—
They rushed forward.
No signal.
No warning.
Just movement.
"—NOW!"
The clash began.
Energy exploded across the void.
Blades met shadows.
Skills activated in rapid succession.
But something was wrong.
Every strike—
Passed through.
"…What?!"
The Hunters staggered as their attacks phased through the figures—
Like they weren't fully real.
"…They're intangible!"
No—
Not exactly.
Because the next moment—
One of the figures struck back.
And it connected.
A Hunter was thrown backward violently—
Crashing across the empty space.
"…They can hit us—but we can't hit them?!"
Panic.
The worst kind of situation.
Kael didn't move.
He watched.
Analyzed.
"…Incomplete existence…"
A whisper.
"…They're not fully here."
The shadows around him stirred.
"…But they're not gone either."
A contradiction.
Which meant—
"They exist in between."
The realization hit instantly.
Not alive.
Not dead.
Trapped.
Kael raised his hand slowly.
"…Let's test something."
The darkness gathered.
Not exploding—
Not attacking—
Reaching.
The nearest figure lunged at him—
Distorted face twisting unnaturally—
But before it could strike—
Kael's shadow touched it.
And stopped.
Everything froze.
"…Got you."
The figure trembled.
Its body flickering violently—
As if rejecting something.
Or accepting it.
The others stopped.
All of them.
Watching.
"…What are you doing?"
Yoo Sera's voice was tense.
Kael didn't respond.
His eyes—
Focused.
"…You're not enemies."
A pause.
"…You're fragments."
The shadow tightened.
The figure let out a sound—
Not a scream—
Not a voice—
Something broken.
Then—
It changed.
Its form stabilized slightly.
A face appeared.
Faint.
Blurry.
Human.
"…Help…"
The word barely existed.
But it was there.
Silence.
Everyone heard it.
"…They're conscious…"
Yoo Sera's voice dropped.
"…No…"
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
"…They're trapped inside whatever this place is."
The realization spread.
These weren't monsters.
They were—
Victims.
Suddenly—
The space trembled.
Violently.
The figure in Kael's grasp began to distort again—
Worse than before.
"…No—"
Its form started breaking apart—
Pulled backward—
Like something was dragging it away.
"…It's rejecting the connection."
Kael's grip tightened.
"…Or something is."
Then—
The voice returned.
"Do not interfere."
The pressure dropped instantly.
Heavier.
Colder.
Even the S-Rank Hunters froze.
"…That voice again…"
But this time—
It wasn't distant.
It was close.
Too close.
The darkness behind the figures began to move—
Not like before.
This time—
With intent.
The void split.
And something emerged.
Not a figure.
Not a shape.
A presence.
Something that didn't need form to exist.
Kael slowly looked up.
His eyes met—
Nothing.
And everything.
"…So you're the one behind this."
Silence.
Then—
A response.
"They belong here."
Kael's expression didn't change.
"…No."
A pause.
"…They're being held here."
The space trembled again.
The presence shifted.
"You are not permitted to understand."
Kael smiled faintly.
"…Too late."
The shadows around him deepened.
Not violently.
But steadily.
"…I already do."
The presence grew heavier.
Dangerous.
"Then you will be removed."
The void collapsed inward.
The figures screamed silently.
Reality began to distort again—
Far worse than before.
The S-Rank Hunters braced themselves.
"…This is bad…"
But Kael—
Stepped forward.
"…No."
The distortion paused.
For a moment.
"…You made a mistake."
Silence.
Kael's eyes darkened completely.
"…You shouldn't have let me in."
The shadows exploded outward—
Not attacking—
Expanding.
Touching everything.
The figures.
The space.
The void itself.
And for the first time—
The presence reacted.
"…What are you?"
Kael's smile widened slightly.
"…I was about to ask you the same thing."
Because now—
It wasn't just a hunt.
It was a clash—
Between two things—
That didn't belong.
And only one—
Would remain.